Jake's Version? Jake Gyllenhaal finally speaks up on 'Red (Taylor's Version)'
Jake Gyllenhaal has finally spoken up about All Too Well, and if he’s ever listened to the heavily-inspired ‘Red (Taylor’s Version)'.
The Taylor Swift rereleased 2012 album came with a scalding 10-minute version of All Too Well, the singer's emotional ballad for her and Gyllenhaal’s 3-month relationship that started in late 2010.
With never-before-heard lyrics such as 'You said if we had been closer in age maybe it would have been fine' to 'I'll get older, but your lovers stay my age', Swifties soon found it to be a clear reflection of her short relationship with the actor, who is 10 years her senior.
A short film for the song starring Stranger Things star Sadie Sink and Dylan O’Brien further solidified the rumors, as the two actors’ age remains the same age gap that Swift and Gyllenhaal were when they began their relationship.
Speaking with Esquire, Jake shared that despite the online backlash, the song has "nothing to do with me."
"It’s about her relationship with her fans. It is her expression. Artists tap into personal experiences for inspiration, and I don’t begrudge anyone that."
True enough, Swift has utilized her relationships to inspire her body of work through the years, from citing John Mayer in Dear John to referencing her feuds with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West in 2014’s Reputation album.
Nevertheless, the fact that Gyllenhaal had to turn off the comments section on his Instagram account shortly after the release of Red (Taylor's Version) raised eyebrows, to which he explained that it was to disallow "cyberbullying."
"I think it’s important when supporters get unruly that we feel a responsibility to have them be civil and not allow for cyberbullying in one’s name.”
The actor then tapped into the deeper philosophical issue of allowing online discourse: "A conversation that allows us to examine how we can—or should, even—take responsibility for what we put into the world, our contributions into the world. How do we provoke a conversation?”
"Is this our future? Is anger and divisiveness our future? Or can we be empowered and empower others while simultaneously putting empathy and civility into the dominant conversation? That’s the discussion we should be having," he added.
When asked if he had even listened to the album, the 41-year-old actor also simply said no.
"My life is wonderful. I have a relationship that is truly wonderful, and I have a family I love so much. And this whole period of time has made me realize that," Jake concluded.
We're guessing the Red Scarf saga will be left at that.